


Bloody Tears

by visionaria48



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-21 13:58:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/901099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/visionaria48/pseuds/visionaria48
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo Kurosaki left his gang life behind as it was his sister's last wish. Five years later he has proudly turned his life around as a successful dojo owner. Bring in Toshiro Hitsugaya a private detective; he helps Ichigo finally leave the past behind and live a happy life. But just as Ichigo is finally happy, people from the past come back to hurt him once again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

5 years ago…

Ichigo Kurosaki lay unmoving on a grassy hill. His normally bright orange hair was dull and matted with blood. Most of it was his but not all of it. The chocolate brown eyes stared blindly at the clear night sky. Every inch of his six foot frame was bruised and bloodied.

The pain, however, was something he deserved. What was left of his family died yesterday. Car crash. By the time Ichigo had made it to the hospital all but Yuzu, his youngest sister were dead. The sight of Yuzu covered head to toe in bandages, barely breathing, would haunt Ichigo for the rest of his life. But nothing would pain him more than her last request.

" _Nii-san… I missed you." Her voice was so breathy it was barely audible._

" _Yuzu… I am so sorry." Ichigo sobbed. "I never should have joined up with the Arrancars. I should have…" A small hand on his stopped him. He looked up into the eyes that were so similar to his, the eyes that were rapidly dulling."_

" _Ichigo, nii-san… don't. I… get it… we did. Just… don't go back… leave the gang…please." The last word was a whisper. The sound of it brought new tears to Ichigo's eyes._

" _I promise Yuzu." She gave him a smile, one so bright and full of memories long passed. As the life left Yuzu's eyes, she kept the smile._

Ichigo kept his promise. He bore the bruises to prove it. As Ichigo lay there under the clear night sky he felt the warm, wet tracks run down his face. He cried for the past, for his and his family's. Most of all he cried for time lost.


	2. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki

Present Day

Toshiro Hitsugaya was bored. Being a private detective was boring. Always the same old same old. Most of the jobs he had were spying on couples and most of those jobs ended with proof of cheating.

Take today for example. Guy comes in because he believes his wife is cheating. Honestly it sounded to Toshiro that the guy already knew she was cheating, and all he wanted was the proof. And Toshiro got him that, less than four hours on the job too.

Taking out his phone Toshiro called his office assistant, Rangiku Matsumoto. He really did not know why he let her work for him, she never did paperwork and was always sleeping on the job. He was distracted from his thoughts when she answered the phone.

"CAPTAIN!" Toshiro was used to her screaming and knew not to hold the phone next to his ear. He waited a good few minutes until he deemed it safe.

"Matsumoto." He interrupted her rambling. "I'm calling it a night."

"What? You already got pictures? But this means less paperwork!" Toshiro sighed and opened his mouth to reprimand her for not working but his stomach decided to rumble at that point.

"Yes I already got pictures. Now I'm going to get something to eat and then head home. Do your paperwork." He hung up, cutting off her complaints.

Toshiro walked down the dark street. His snow white hair practically glowing in the dim light. The teal eyes were watchful, taking in all his surroundings. The 25 year old was especially attuned to the questioning eyes and whispers. Usually he heard 'What is that kid doing out here?' It was because of his height. He may be 25, but he was only five feet tall and was often mistaken for a child.

He listened and chose to ignore those whispers. He was used to them now even though they always served to piss him off. Toshiro dealt with these whispers all the way to the small grocery store. Wandering around a bit, he picked whatever sounded good at the moment. Which wasn't much. Toshiro was actually quite a good cook but he never felt motivated to. But he paid for the few items he grabbed and left the store.

Leaving the store he began to feel the hair on his neck stand up. Someone was watching him. Covertly glancing around Toshiro saw the shadows, it looked like three of them. Cursing himself for not bringing his gun with him today, Toshiro searched for options. He did know some fighting techniques but not enough to take on three people.

"Oi! Where you going lil' boy?" Toshiro's eye twitched at the last comment, but he knew he had to keep his cool.

"As far away from you as possible." He gave himself a mental slap for the sarcastic comment. It doesn't help the situation at all, but he was unable to keep his wit to himself.

"Aw don't be like that. We just want to show you a good time." A hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed Toshiro into the nearest wall. Panic was starting to cloud his rational mind. The situation worsened when the remaining guys surrounded them. Toshiro did the only thing he could think of: knee the guy in the crotch. As soon as he went down, Toshiro ran.

"What the hell are you doing? After the bastard!" Running footsteps echoed behind him. The next thing Toshiro knew he was on the ground. The cold cement did nothing to calm his rapid heart.

"You're gonna pay for that boy." He felt himself being rolled over and came face first to the man's clenched fist. The fist that was rapidly approaching his eye. The fist both slammed his eye and his head to the ground. His vision in his eye went blurry and his head throbbed.

"Hey! What are you guys doing!" Toshiro heard the new voice and was confused. The pain was not making it easy to think. He blurrily saw to shapes leave and heard sounds from a fight. Then the weight holding him down was gone too. He felt someone touch the forming bruise on his face and flinched.

"Hey you alright?" Teal eyes shot open. Immediately he saw orange. Gradually his vision cleared a bit to make out the orange as hair. Chocolate eyes looked down at him worriedly.

"Yeah." Toshiro tried to nod but stopped when the pain came back.

"Can you stand?" The orange head asked him. Toshiro immediately felt grateful for not just being picked up like a kid.

"Yes. I do not require your help." The snippy reply felt especially harsh given the situation but Toshiro couldn't help it. Strangely, it did not seem to affect the other man. If anything it made him smile.

"You got guts man but you can't even lift your head up. I doubt you can stand." Toshiro reluctantly agreed. He felt the man lift and hold him against a muscular chest. The warmth seeping off the man was very comforting to Toshiro and he felt sleep overcoming him.

"So what's your name?" The man asked casually as if things like this happened regularly.

"…Toshiro. Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Well nice to meet you Toshiro, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."


	3. Rangiku!

Chapter 2

Ichigo stared down at the small man in his arms. He was out like a light. Normally Ichigo wouldn't worry but the fact he had a head wound was not reassuring. While trying to figure out where to take the man Ichigo heard a groan from behind him.

"You'll pay for this-" The rest of the sentence was cut off by Ichigo's foot to the side of the man's face.

"Now you listen to me. If I EVER see you around here again I'll do a lot more than just beat you up." Ichigo felt the murderous glint chill his normally warm brown eyes. He saw the shock in the other man's eyes but it didn't completely dull the hate seen there. Ichigo left the men there hoping they crawled back into whatever hellhole they came from.

The white haired man in his arms moved, distracting Ichigo. The hospital was the closet place right now, so it was probably best to take him there. Toshiro seemed to consume Ichigo's thoughts. He certainly looked like a teenager but there was an air of age around him. He couldn't really explain it, but there was no way Ichigo could ever mistake this man for a boy.

The white hair was very distracting. It looked like it was made for someone to run their hands through it. And the eyes. He had only gotten a brief glance at the teal orbs but they were mesmerizing and- Ichigo stopped the thoughts right there. No way would this man be interested in him, the ex-gangster. Ichigo was just helping the man out; he wouldn't expect anything more than that.

As Ichigo approached the ER, he felt his resolve harden.

"Um- excuse I have a man here-" Ichigo began but another voice interrupted him.

"Hitsugaya? Toshiro, what happened?" The voice came from a young woman. She had her long black hair braided and running down her back. Her eyes were kind but filled with worry.

"You know him? He was in a small fight a few blocks over. I wasn't sure if it was serious or not so I brought him here." The woman was nodding before Ichigo finished. The worry was still in her eyes but it was dulled by her own resolve.

"Yes, yes. Follow me." He followed her down the hallway to an empty exam room. "Go ahead and set him down." Ichigo did as he was bid. "Now what exactly happened?"

"From what I could see he was punched and his head hit the pavement." Ichigo waited while the doctor examined Toshiro with experienced hands. Whoever this women was, she seemed to know Toshiro and knew what she was doing. A nurse came in and ushered Ichigo out before he could say anything more.

Ichigo paced. He stood outside the room and paced. He couldn't just leave, not until he knew Toshiro would be okay.

"Excuse me Mr…?" Ichigo turned to the doctor.

"Kurosaki, but just call me Ichigo. How is he, will he be okay?" The words rushed out of Ichigo's mouth. He momentarily felt embarrassed, but the woman smiled.

"Ichigo, I'm Ms. Unohana. And yes, Toshiro will be just fine. He has a mild concussion, but a little bed rest and he'll be fine." Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief. "Would you like to see him, I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"Oh, no. As long as he'll be okay, that's good enough for me." She looked at him with doubt. "No really, just tell him I hope he gets better soon." With that Ichigo quickly turned and walked, almost ran, to the entrance.

Guys like Ichigo just didn't get involved with men with beautiful white hair and teal eyes.

Toshiro's head was pounding. His eyes were still closed and already they ached. Where was he? That last thing he remembered was being hit, then- orange. He remembered orange. The orangette, Ichigo Kurosaki. Did he save him? How did he take on three guys at once?

Bright teal eyes snapped open. Where was Ichigo, was he still here? Looking around, Toshiro realized he was in a hospital room. Everything was white, with no orange to be seen. As Toshiro began to feel disappointment fill him, the door burst open.

"BOSS!" His redheaded assistant burst in. Her blue eyes filled with tears. "Ms. Unohana called the office! What happened, were you hurt? Are you okay?" Toshiro could feel his headache worsen from her insistent questioning. Rangiku then grabbed the small man in a bone-crushing hug, forcing his head into her breasts.

"Rangiku. Let. Me. Go." She quickly released him, ready to ask more questions. "Obviously if I'm in the hospital I was hurt."

"You were attacked Toshiro! My precious boss was hurt!" Toshiro shook his head at her stupid ramblings. The only reason Rangiku thought him 'precious' was because one, he paid her, and two, he wasn't interested in her romantically, or women in general for that matter.

"Where's Ichigo?" Toshiro asked, still wanting to see the orangette

"Who?" Rangiku asked, her rambling interrupted.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. He saved me and brought me here I think." Toshiro was relatively sure that had happened but his memory was still a little fuzzy.

"Wait you mean  _that_ Ichigo, sensei Ichigo?" This left Toshiro confused.

"Sensei? What do you mean?"

"Toshiro! Don't you remember the self-defense classes the girls and I went to a while ago?" Toshiro tried and vaguely remembered this but he wasn't sure. "He was a great teacher, gorgeous too! The way you could see those muscles move." Rangiku sighed dramatically. Her description brought a quite detailed picture to Toshiro's mind, making him blush. "It really is too bad he's gay. All that hot male body going to waste on other guys."

"He's gay?" Toshiro quickly asked, blushing deeper and how eager his voice sounded. He hoped Rangiku wouldn't notice, but he hoped in vain. Her eyes lit up mischievously.

"Do you like him Toshiro? I wouldn't have pegged him for your type. I know! When you're all better he should go visit him! Give him a little thank you!" Rangiku waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Rangiku!" If it was possible Toshiro blushed even deeper.


	4. Pumpkin Head

"Come  _on_  Toshiro!" Rangiku squealed like a little school girl. Toshiro shook his head at the sight of a grown women skipping down the street.

"Rangiku, please calm down. You're embarrassing yourself." Calmly following his assistant, Toshiro reflected as to why he decided to come. He had been released from the hospital a few days ago and now he was headed to Ichigo's dojo. He tried to convince himself that he just wanted to thank the orangette personally, but he knew that was a lie. The glimpse Toshiro had seen of those chocolate eyes was not enough. Toshiro wanted more.

Why had Ichigo left? Had he not found Toshiro attractive? Rangiku had told him Ichigo was gay, but maybe Toshiro wasn't his type. Toshiro was filled with self-doubt as he walked up to the dojo. He wasn't sure he could step through that door, but Toshiro Hitsugaya didn't back down. He squared his shoulders and walked towards the door.

Inside the dojo Ichigo walked around his practicing students. This was his more advanced martial arts class so he let them practice on their own more. They all were pretty decent fighters, Ichigo doubted they could handle a street fight but that wasn't the point of this class. Everyone was doing very well except for one student.

"Oi! Nagano! What're you doing?" The young brunette male looked at him defiantly. Ichigo was used to this, teenagers coming in and thinking he didn't know anything about them. Truth was he did, probably better than anyone.

"Practicing Sensei." Ichigo was also used to smartass replies.

"Oh really? To me it looked like you were showing off and almost knocked out the guy behind you." Ichigo watched as a tiny bit of concern came into the teen's eyes. "Now if you want to try more advanced techniques then do it privately." Ichigo waited until the teen nodded before glancing at the clock. "Alright everyone! I'll take it easy on you and let you out a little early, go ahead and cool down." Many of the teens grinned, excited about getting out early, while they did some cooling stretches and heading to the locker rooms.

Once the practice area was empty, Ichigo did his own stretching. He enjoyed the time when he was done with classes for the day; it allowed him to do his own practicing. As much as he hated to admit it but fighting calmed him, for a little while it made him forget his past.

Ichigo could feel his body move in a familiar pattern. Anyone watching could see him move with the ease of a lifelong fighter. As the outside world dimmed around him, he vaguely heard the sound of his students shuffling out, their voices disappearing as Ichigo lost himself in his own world.

Rangiku and Toshiro were walking in as a class seemed to be coming out. They walked up the front desk and Toshiro was shocked to see the tattooed, redheaded man there.

"Renji!" Rangiku yelled in her normal, over the top voice. The man looked up in surprise.

"Rangiku! And Toshiro! What are you doing here?" Toshiro was still shocked to see Renji here. Renji was the boyfriend of Toshiro's very good friend, Byakuya. They had been dating for about a year and they always seemed to be glued at the hip. Toshiro was also surprised that Renji obviously seemed to know Ichigo. Were there social circles really that close? How had they never met before the other day?

"We're here to see Ichigo, Renji. Well at least Toshiro here is, I'm just tagging along to see all this fine male body." She made a show of looking up and down Renji's body, making him laugh.

"You can look but don't touch, unless you want Byakuya's death glare." While this made Rangiku shiver in fear, it made Toshiro laugh. Byakuya may not seem it but he was quite possessive of his lover. "So what to y'all want with pumpkin head?" Renji asked, grinning at the nickname.

"I wanted to thank him. He sav- he helped me the other day and I wanted to properly thank him." Toshiro quickly revised his sentence; he did still have some pride.

"Ri-ight. How do you plan to thank him?" The last two words were in air quotes and both Rangiku and Renji were grinning suggestively, causing Toshiro to scowl at their childish antics.

"How does Byakuya even put up with you?" Toshiro asked, shaking his head.

"He just loves me." Was Renji's casual answer. "Come on, Pumpkin is practicing at the moment but I'm sure he'd appreciate a good thank you." Toshiro shook his head as the other two continued to chuckle.

He reluctantly followed Renji into the practice room of the dojo. He watched in awe as Ichigo moved. His muscular body moving so lithely, the moves so practiced they seemed second nature. He also seemed completely oblivious that anyone was in the room with him. Renji, annoyed at the lack of response from Ichigo, lobbed at towel at him, hitting him in the back.

"Oi! What the hell was that for? What-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as he noticed the other people in the room. "Toshiro what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked as he began to towel off his face and neck.

"He wanted to come here and thank you." Renji provided, still smiling. Ichigo, used to the man's taunts, just rolled his eyes.

"Get out of here Pineapple."

"Hey don't call me that you Pumpkin!"

"Come on Pineapple, let's go." Rangiku dragged a reluctant Renji out the door, his shouts echoing in the building. This left Ichigo and Toshiro alone.

"So Toshiro…" Ichigo began, unsure as what to say.

"Why did you leave?" Toshiro blurted, immediately regretting the words. That's not the best way to open a conversation.

The sudden question made Ichigo uncomfortable. "I just- well-" Ichigo sighed. "I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me, so I thought it best if I avoided this type of awkward conversation." Ichigo answered, unable to look Toshiro in the eye.

The answer left Toshiro surprised, he wasn't sure what answer he had expected but he definitely wasn't expecting that. He frowned at the truth in the other man's words. What did he mean by that? "Well you were wrong." Toshiro simply replied. Ichigo looked at him in surprise. What Toshiro said next surprised the both of them. "Will you go to dinner with me?"


End file.
